Mining is essential to the human well-being in many aspects. Mining activities, however, contribute significantly to pollution and other environmental impacts in South Africa. Recently much more stringent environmental legislation has been developed in South Africa due to increased public awareness and environmental disasters caused by mining activities. Authorisations constitute one of the main "command and control" instruments that can be used to influence and direct the behaviour of individuals and organisations to achieve sound environmental protection ultimately. The problem is that in the ever-changing maze of South African environmental legislation, it is often difficult for individuals and organisations to identify, obtain and maintain environmental authorisations. This article provides a legislative framework for the mining sector, explores the purpose and importance of environmental authorisations, gives an overview of the underlying relationship between environmental authorisations, risk assessment and environmental management systems before proposing a generic procedure for identifying, obtaining and maintaining environmental authorisations. / Thesis (M. Environmental Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

Mining is essential to the human well-being in many aspects. Mining activities, however, contribute significantly to pollution and other environmental impacts in South Africa. Recently much more stringent environmental legislation has been developed in South Africa due to increased public awareness and environmental disasters caused by mining activities. Authorisations constitute one of the main "command and control" instruments that can be used to influence and direct the behaviour of individuals and organisations to achieve sound environmental protection ultimately. The problem is that in the ever-changing maze of South African environmental legislation, it is often difficult for individuals and organisations to identify, obtain and maintain environmental authorisations. This article provides a legislative framework for the mining sector, explores the purpose and importance of environmental authorisations, gives an overview of the underlying relationship between environmental authorisations, risk assessment and environmental management systems before proposing a generic procedure for identifying, obtaining and maintaining environmental authorisations. / Thesis (M. Environmental Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

Thesis (M. Environmental Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

The focus of this study was to investigate the perception of employees on environmental performance within a corporate company. In this instance Absa Bank Limited was the organisation under investigation referring directly to the banks impact on the environment. A literature study was conducted to establish an awareness of all related terms and subjects to environmental performance. Further a specific focus on Absa Bank Limited?s environmental impact and the policies and procedures set out by this organisation was researched and discussed. An empirical study was conducted by means of a self completion questionnaire administered by a random sample of employees working for Absa Bank Limited. Quantitative research that was conducted by means of questionnaires were distributed through the Absa Bank Limited Group to 200 employees in the Gauteng and North West Province and distributed through different departments and management levels. 52 usable questionnaires were gathered out of the abovementioned areas. Cronbach Alpha coefficient values were used to determine the internal consistency amongst items in the research instrument. The research instrument used in this study to assess perception of employees on the environmental performance within Absa Bank Limited had acceptable reliability, since not one of the constructs had a lower Cronbach Alpha coefficient than 0.7. The correlation between the demographical variables and the seven constructs were examined by independent t–tests and effect sizes. The demographical factors used were the gender classification of respondents, number of years employed by Absa Bank Limited and the management level of the respondents. In all instances the effect sizes were too small to be of any practical significance since none of the effect sizes had a large effect (d–value = 0.8). Recommendations and practical ways in which environmental performance could be enhanced and maintained in Absa Bank Limited were discussed. It was also reccomended that systems and procedures should be revisited and adapted to ensure adherence to the requirements of environmental performance. The report concluded by addressing the achievement of all the objectives, and by recommending possible future research that could be undertaken based on this study. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

Thesis (M. Environmental Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

The focus of this study was to investigate the perception of employees on environmental performance within a corporate company. In this instance Absa Bank Limited was the organisation under investigation referring directly to the banks impact on the environment. A literature study was conducted to establish an awareness of all related terms and subjects to environmental performance. Further a specific focus on Absa Bank Limited?s environmental impact and the policies and procedures set out by this organisation was researched and discussed. An empirical study was conducted by means of a self completion questionnaire administered by a random sample of employees working for Absa Bank Limited. Quantitative research that was conducted by means of questionnaires were distributed through the Absa Bank Limited Group to 200 employees in the Gauteng and North West Province and distributed through different departments and management levels. 52 usable questionnaires were gathered out of the abovementioned areas. Cronbach Alpha coefficient values were used to determine the internal consistency amongst items in the research instrument. The research instrument used in this study to assess perception of employees on the environmental performance within Absa Bank Limited had acceptable reliability, since not one of the constructs had a lower Cronbach Alpha coefficient than 0.7. The correlation between the demographical variables and the seven constructs were examined by independent t–tests and effect sizes. The demographical factors used were the gender classification of respondents, number of years employed by Absa Bank Limited and the management level of the respondents. In all instances the effect sizes were too small to be of any practical significance since none of the effect sizes had a large effect (d–value = 0.8). Recommendations and practical ways in which environmental performance could be enhanced and maintained in Absa Bank Limited were discussed. It was also reccomended that systems and procedures should be revisited and adapted to ensure adherence to the requirements of environmental performance. The report concluded by addressing the achievement of all the objectives, and by recommending possible future research that could be undertaken based on this study. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

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Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:26:16Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2011-10-13Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T18:29:49Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 oliveira_ja_me_bauru.pdf: 1290805 bytes, checksum: 1d50e5da5fd2cc10b70fbaeb41e002b7 (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / A preocupação com a questão ambiental está cada vez mais presente nas discussões governamentais, empresariais e na sociedade em geral. O setor industrial representa um dos ramos de atividade mais impactantes em relação ao meio ambiente, contudo, ele também apresenta o maior número de certificações ISO 14001:2004, que é uma norma internacional para implantação e certificação de Sistema de Gestão Ambiental nas empresas. A produção mais limpa apresenta como um importante instrumento para a minimização dos danos ambientais causados pelo setor industrial, mas existem poucas evidências científicas sobre a relação entre a certificação ISO 14001: 2004 e a adoção de procedimentos de Produção Mais Limpa. Pelo exposto, o principal objetivo deste trabalho foi verificar o grau de adoção de procedimentos de Produção Mais Limpa em empresas industriais brasileiras com certificação ISO 14001:2004 e, por meio de uma pesquisa survey precedida pela realização de quatro estudos de casos, identificar as suas compatibilidades. Foi possível estabelecer um panorama geral sobre o conhecimento e a adoção de procedimentos de Produção Mais Limpa em indústrias brasileiras com a certificação ISO 14001:2004 e a manutenção de seus Sistemas de Gestão Ambiental. Essas informações foram fundamentadas pela revisão bibliográfica e exploradas nos quatro estudos de caso, sendo então confirmadas e descritas pela survey que obeteve um retorno de 26,7%. Os resultados permitiram concluir que existem compatibilidades diretas e inversas entre a Produção Mais Limpa e o SGA ISO 14001. As principais compatibilidades identificadas simultaneamente pelo método de pesquisa qualitativo e pelo método quantitativo foram na Política Ambiental, nos Aspectos Ambientais, nos Objetivos, Metas e Programas e no Monitoramento e Mediação / The concern with environmental issues is increasingly present in discussions governamental, business and society in general. The industrial sector represents one of the most striking lines of business in relation to the environment, however, it also has the highest number of ISO 14001:2004, which is an international standard for implementation and certification of environmental management system in companies. The Cleaner Production is presented as an import tool for minimizing environmental damage caused by the industrial sector, but there is little scientific evidence on the relationship between the ISO 14001:2004 certification procedures and the adoption of cleaner production. For these reasons, the main objective of this study was to acess the degree of adoption of cleaner production procedures in industrial companies with ISO 14001:2004 and, through a survey research preceded by the completion of four case studies, identify their compatibilities. It was possible to establish and overview of the knowledge and adoption of procedures for Cleaner Production in Brazilian Industries with the ISO 14001:2004 certification and maintenance of its Environmental Management Systems. These data were substantiated by the literature review and explored in four case studies ate then described and confirmed by the survey which obtained a return of 26.6%. The results showed that there are forward and reverse compatibility between Cleaner Production and EMS ISO 14001. The main compatibility identified by both the qualitative research method and the quantitative method were in Environmental Policy, Environmental Aspects, the Goals, Targets and Programs and Monitoring and Measurement

Os empreendimentos de construção civil são um dos maiores causadores de impactos ao meio ambiente. Essa pesquisa justifica-se assim pela necessidade da minimização de tais impactos e do desenvolvimento de ferramentas para a gestão ambiental, aplicáveis no âmbito das empresas construtoras. A aplicabilidade de sistemas de gestão ambiental em empresas construtoras de edifícios é determinada por meio da caracterização dos aspectos ambientais de seu processo produtivo e também da discussão do panorama político e legislativo, setorial e acadêmico, que demonstram a tendência por uma construção mais sustentável. A análise dos elementos propostos pela norma ISO 14001:1996 também justifica a opção pela gestão ambiental em empresas construtoras, uma vez que se apresenta como uma forma coerente e viável de padronizar a ação destas empresas sobre os aspectos ambientais identificados. E, finalmente, para ilustrar a aplicabilidade de sistemas de gestão ambiental em empresas construtoras de edifícios é proposta uma metodologia específica integrando os conceitos da gestão ambiental à gestão da qualidade e atuando sobre os seus pontos críticos. Como fundamentos para a elaboração desta metodologia, é feita uma análise das similaridades entre os sistemas de gestão e, principalmente, uma análise das experiências observadas nos estudos de caso e nos depoimentos apresentados por empresas construtoras, incluindo a observância de suas especificidades, necessidades e dificuldades. / The necessity to minimize the environmental impacts that come from construction activities, the existence of environmental management tools and available site solutions, they all justify this research. The applicability of environmental management systems at contractors is presented by characterizing the environmental aspects of production, and also by showing the political, legal, industrial and academic scenario. This information illustrates and represents the tendency of sustainable construction. The analysis of the elements proposed by the ISO 14001:1996 also justifies the option to implement environmental management at contractors, once it presents a coherent and applicable way to standardize these organizations' actions concerning the identified environmental aspects. And finally, to demonstrate the applicability of environmental management systems at contractors, a specific methodology is proposed, integrating the environmental management concepts into quality management and acting on their crucial issues. The analysis of the similarities found between these two management systems and, mainly, the analysis of the experiences observed on case studies and speeches presented by contractors, including their specificities, necessities and difficulties, they both have worked as a basis for this methodology elaboration.

The subject of green management is today relatively unexplored in existing literature, especially regarding SMEs in logistics. To bridge this gap this study aims to find what factors influence the implementation of green management for SMEs in logistics. Furthermore, this study aims to address the influential weight of these factors to create an even greater understanding within the topic. The chosen research method of this paper is qualitative, and the empirical data is collected through semi-structured interviews with Swedish logistic companies who have acquired the environmental management system ISO 14001. Furthermore, the research approach of this study is deductive. When implementing green management, this paper has found 4 factors that influence a company in various ways. What also has been found is what factors that have more influential weight and are essential to make such implementation effective. The study provides both theoretical and practical implications. Theoretically it fills a gap current literature and further explains SMEs in logistics use of green management. Practically companies can draw from this study to see if they work effectively with green management or better prepare for a transition. The researchers of this study suggest that the factors of influence that are presented in the empirical findings should be tested in a quantitative study with a larger sample size to better measure the effect of each one in a practical context.